Guitarsoup said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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I just can't understand not challenging that.

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We can't because we used our last time out to advance the ball with 24s left.

Refs know they can be as awful as they want.

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Ah missed that. Damn

That jump ball call was true Donaghy stuff. Just unreal.

Knicks cover on that three at end.

What a W. Good to see Wemby out there without crutches but he's probably gonna be out a month now.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Knicks cover on that three at end.

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That was really odd to me. Like Brunson had money on the spread.

Champ and Wemby: 13-19 from three

Rest of team: 1-19 from three.

And you know if knicks were down four the refs would have given Brunson the foul on that corner three at the end.

FTAG 2000 said:

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And you know if knicks were down four the refs would have given Brunson the foul on that corner three at the end.

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Surprised they didn't anyway

Moment of appreciation for Keldon going 6-6 at the line and Barnes going 2-2 to ice the game.

Guitarsoup said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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And you know if knicks were down four the refs would have given Brunson the foul on that corner three at the end.

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Surprised they didn't anyway

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He covered the spread with that three, they were all relatively safe from broken knuckles and knees with that.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Champ and Wemby: 13-19 from three

Rest of team: 1-19 from three.

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Only 7 players have had more threes in a game than Julian tonight:

Klay
Steph
Dame
LaVine
Kobe

And two you would never guess:
Donyell Marshall
Keegan Murray

3pt shooting foul called on Barnes with 9 seconds remaining. Adam Silver ruined the sport of basketball pic.twitter.com/VwjhoyR3AT

— hymn duncan (@hymnduncan) January 1, 2026

Sean just completely disgusted at these refs.

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama suffered a slight hyperextension in his left knee in tonight's win over New York -- and initial tests came back negative and showed no major injury.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 1, 2026

Surprise appearance from Victor Wembanyama postgame. Says it’s a hyperextension, and team has already done whatever testing they can.

On how he feels: “Feeling good, just sore. Very confident … should be minimal (impact).” #PorVida pic.twitter.com/l1vn5bw5sH

— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) January 1, 2026

Victor Wembanyama, smirking: “I expect to be back next game. I’m not sure what they (medical staff) expect.” #PorVida

— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) January 1, 2026

Pretty great news. Probably a minimal bone bruise. Spurs have tomorrow off, then play at Indiana followed by 2nd game of back to back vs Portland.

Wemby probably won't want to skip the Indiana game b/c of the 65 game limit.

Also, 1 day off, then @Indiana and back in SA for a back to back. The schedule makers ****ing hate us. Back to backs should either be at home, in the same city, or a very minimal travel (Orlando/Miami, Boston/NYC, etc)

Guitarsoup said:

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3pt shooting foul called on Barnes with 9 seconds remaining. Adam Silver ruined the sport of basketball pic.twitter.com/VwjhoyR3AT

— hymn duncan (@hymnduncan) January 1, 2026

Sean just completely disgusted at these refs.

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Kinda hate that we used that timeout to move the ball up. Would have been great to be able to challenge.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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3pt shooting foul called on Barnes with 9 seconds remaining. Adam Silver ruined the sport of basketball pic.twitter.com/VwjhoyR3AT

— hymn duncan (@hymnduncan) January 1, 2026

Sean just completely disgusted at these refs.

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Kinda hate that we used that timeout to move the ball up. Would have been great to be able to challenge.

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Yeah, I agree. I think they were in danger of the 5s rule.

But these refs would have seen that and said "Yep, Barnes made contact" anyway.

I mean they reviewed the call where Kornet had position, was shoved in the back and still didn't get it right.

Guitarsoup said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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3pt shooting foul called on Barnes with 9 seconds remaining. Adam Silver ruined the sport of basketball pic.twitter.com/VwjhoyR3AT

— hymn duncan (@hymnduncan) January 1, 2026

Sean just completely disgusted at these refs.

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Kinda hate that we used that timeout to move the ball up. Would have been great to be able to challenge.

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Yeah, I agree. I think they were in danger of the 5s rule.

But these refs would have seen that and said "Yep, Barnes made contact" anyway.

I mean they reviewed the call where Kornet had position, was shoved in the back and still didn't get it right.

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Good point. We weren't getting any call that mattered from them. Just happy to have the W and move forward.

Here’s the full clip on Victor Wembanyama discussing his limping off the court. Gives:

✅ Injury Update
✅ How he feels
✅ What happened on that play
✅ The future regarding this@spurfectblog #PorVida pic.twitter.com/L6rfVcKkg9

— Carolina Teague (@CTtheMicSlayer) January 1, 2026

They desperately need some more shooting. They get to the playoffs and teams are just gonna pack all five in the lane and dare them to beat them.

FTAG 2000 said:

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They desperately need some more shooting. They get to the playoffs and team. They're just gonna pack all five in the lane and dare them to beat them.

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Yep. And I don't think we really get involved on a deal unless it is us inserting ourselves into a bigger deal.

Constraint: 5.5M in space before we hit the tax.

Some guys that could be available that fit in the Olynyk and/or Sochan salary range:

* Sam Hauser (But think
* Tobias Harris
* Isaiah Stewart (if Detroit makes a trade for a big like AD and they want to keep Holland)
* Royce ONeale
* SloMo (ending deal)
* Kristaps
* Risacher
* Wiggins
* Kuminga (barf emoji)
* Nick Richards
* Drummond
* DeRozan
* Simone Fontecchio
* Rui

So easy one: Royce ONeale for Sochan. Suns have cap problems next year when Mark Williams and Collin Gillespie are up for a new deal. This saves them almost 11M. Royce isn't as big as we would want, but he plays physical and hits threes. Two more years on his contract for age 33 and age 34 season isn't ideal, but they might do this for Sochan+2nd and we have 3 seconds. PHX doesn't have a 1st or 2nd this year.

You could also expand this and include Nick Richards for Biyumbo. That saves PHX about 6M this year. Richards is a FA after this season, but I would like the nasty he brings as a 3rd string center. Opens up more PT for Malauch. PHX is currently 500k over the luxury tax line and they obviously want to dip under it for repeater tax reasons.

-----------

That one I floated a couple days ago where we sneak in on the Dallas-ATL trade to snag Risacher and flip Sochan for SloMo to replace Olynyk.



----------


If Detroit does a MPJ trade we can get involved in getting Tobias (expiring deal)

Brooklyn receives:
* Detroit picks
* Sochan
* Olynyk
* Jaden Ivey
* Biyumbo

Detroit receives:
* MPJ
* Lindy Waters
* Jalen Wilson
* Tyrese Martin

Spurs receive:
* Tobias (expiring)
* Issac Jones (expiring)
* Chaz Lanier (2nd rd deal)

The smaller salaries included to stay under luxury tax for Spurs - just 4.7M more

--------

Just SloMo for Sochan would be an upgrade. Costs us 2M, but SloMo is a good defender and smart passer.

The Spurs have a lot of shooters. Yes, they go through slumps like everyone. They just won a game where the other team hit 22 threes. That's pretty unusual nowadays but it shows there are other ways to win this game of basketball.

Ag Natural said:

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The Spurs have a lot of shooters. Yes, they go through slumps like everyone. They just won a game where the other team hit 22 threes. That's pretty unusual nowadays but it shows there are other ways to win this game of basketball.

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But it doesn't mean we shouldn't make moves that make sense around the fringe of our core. Having an extra rotational shooter that can knock down shots means we have more flexibility to sit the cold hand.

Spurs are 16th in 3pt%. We have struggled with bigger, more physical players like KAT, Mitchell Robinson, Nurkic, etc.

If a deal becomes available where we can improve our size/strength and 3pt shooting without touching our core, then we should obviously make it. For the playoffs, our ceiling will probably be based on our matchups. Teams like Denver, Minnesota, and Houston have some big guys that could give us physicality problems - but I think Minn and Houston would struggle with our guards.

Quote:

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Chris Haynes said that several of the mid-to-lower tier teams in the 4th-11th spots (specifically named the Bucks, Hawks and Cavaliers) in the Eastern Conference do not 'fear' the Knicks and Pistons and will look to be buyers with the belief they can make the NBA Finals.

He also said that the Hawks view a Porzingis for Anthony Davis swap as a major upgrade and a piece that could help make up for Trae Young's defensive deficiencies.

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2nd part is weird, since the Hawks are shopping around Trae and also because no one can make up for Trae defensively.

Guitarsoup said:

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Ag Natural said:

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The Spurs have a lot of shooters. Yes, they go through slumps like everyone. They just won a game where the other team hit 22 threes. That's pretty unusual nowadays but it shows there are other ways to win this game of basketball.

---

But it doesn't mean we shouldn't make moves that make sense around the fringe of our core. Having an extra rotational shooter that can knock down shots means we have more flexibility to sit the cold hand.

Spurs are 16th in 3pt%. We have struggled with bigger, more physical players like KAT, Mitchell Robinson, Nurkic, etc.

If a deal becomes available where we can improve our size/strength and 3pt shooting without touching our core, then we should obviously make it. For the playoffs, our ceiling will probably be based on our matchups. Teams like Denver, Minnesota, and Houston have some big guys that could give us physicality problems - but I think Minn and Houston would struggle with our guards.

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Yes they are 16th in 3pt%. And 6th in offensive net rating. Offense isn't the main issue. I agree that size could be in some match ups. But isn't that why we signed Kornet?

Ag Natural said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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Ag Natural said:

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The Spurs have a lot of shooters. Yes, they go through slumps like everyone. They just won a game where the other team hit 22 threes. That's pretty unusual nowadays but it shows there are other ways to win this game of basketball.

---

But it doesn't mean we shouldn't make moves that make sense around the fringe of our core. Having an extra rotational shooter that can knock down shots means we have more flexibility to sit the cold hand.

Spurs are 16th in 3pt%. We have struggled with bigger, more physical players like KAT, Mitchell Robinson, Nurkic, etc.

If a deal becomes available where we can improve our size/strength and 3pt shooting without touching our core, then we should obviously make it. For the playoffs, our ceiling will probably be based on our matchups. Teams like Denver, Minnesota, and Houston have some big guys that could give us physicality problems - but I think Minn and Houston would struggle with our guards.

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Yes they are 16th in 3pt%. And 6th in offensive net rating. Offense isn't the main issue. I agree that size could be in some match ups. But isn't that why we signed Kornet?

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Kornet was signed to anchor our 2nd team defense as a high level rim protector. He's great at that and as a screener/roll man. He's not nearly as physical as a lot of those guys that gave us trouble and beyond Wemby (finesse guy) and Kornet, our next biggest rotation player is Harrison Barnes. But Kornet's value was never in being a brute.

If our offense is 6th with mediocre shooting, imagine what it would be if we upgraded the shooting?

As was probably to be expected, Victor Wembanyama did not travel with the Spurs to Indiana and will not play Friday against the Pacers.

An MRI conducted today showed no ligament damage. The team remains hopeful for a swift recovery, but he is out for the near term.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) January 1, 2026

Victor Wembanyama’s MRI on his left knee hyperextension came back negative, a league source tells @TheAthletic. He did not travel with the team to Indiana, so he will be out with knee soreness. Wembanyama is aiming to return at some point in the next week if his recovery goes…

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) January 1, 2026

In addition to Wemby, Spurs will be without Vassell for the second game in a row. pic.twitter.com/dwEhBMkOlE

— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) January 1, 2026

I wonder if anyone in the FO has thought about making sure Wemby doesn't play enough games to make an All NBA team or win DPOY. That would be great for the cap situation in the future.

Its absolutely killing Cleveland right now that Mobley won DPOY last season basically by backing into it. He's not a supermax player but that what his salary is now.

Ag Natural said:

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I wonder if anyone in the FO has thought about making sure Wemby doesn't play enough games to make an All NBA team or win DPOY. That would be great for the cap situation in the future.

Its absolutely killing Cleveland right now that Mobley won DPOY last season basically by backing into it. He's not a supermax player but that what his salary is now.

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I've seen that brought up on Reddit and I think nothing would destroy the trust players have with the team quicker than that.

Also, if any star in the league would take a paycut to help build a better team, I feel like Wemby would be the guy.

If we hamstring Wemby after being gifted him by the lottery gods, everyone's going to go back to saying Kawhi was right, even after history has shown the Spurs were right. Juice just isn't worth the squeeze. No one would want to play for us. How difficult would the next rebuild be?

Guitarsoup said:

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Ag Natural said:

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I wonder if anyone in the FO has thought about making sure Wemby doesn't play enough games to make an All NBA team or win DPOY. That would be great for the cap situation in the future.

Its absolutely killing Cleveland right now that Mobley won DPOY last season basically by backing into it. He's not a supermax player but that what his salary is now.

---

I've seen that brought up on Reddit and I think nothing would destroy the trust players have with the team quicker than that.

Also, if any star in the league would take a paycut to help build a better team, I feel like Wemby would be the guy.

If we hamstring Wemby after being gifted him by the lottery gods, everyone's going to go back to saying Kawhi was right, even after history has shown the Spurs were right. Juice just isn't worth the squeeze. No one would want to play for us. How difficult would the next rebuild be?

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The thing is they have a track record of holding guys out longer than expected with any semblance of an injury. I know nobody would ever say it and certainly not make it obvious. But itd be silly to not notice the silver lining.

I really think they will change the rule if Wemby is denied because he plays 60 games one year.

No way the front office would purposely do that or even externalize those thoughts. That's not how we operate.

It does make you think a lot about Victor's durability. He really takes care of himself but it's likely 3 straight seasons of him not hitting the 65 game mark, even though last year (hopefully) was a one off.

Wemby played 71 as a rookie, so two straight years.

My belief is that the medical team is insulated from the coaching staff/players enough where they can give their medical advice of the best possible outcome for current and long term health of the player and the Spurs in general want to take a conservative approach to everything and always have.

Ag Natural said:

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Guitarsoup said:

---

Ag Natural said:

---

I wonder if anyone in the FO has thought about making sure Wemby doesn't play enough games to make an All NBA team or win DPOY. That would be great for the cap situation in the future.

Its absolutely killing Cleveland right now that Mobley won DPOY last season basically by backing into it. He's not a supermax player but that what his salary is now.

---

I've seen that brought up on Reddit and I think nothing would destroy the trust players have with the team quicker than that.

Also, if any star in the league would take a paycut to help build a better team, I feel like Wemby would be the guy.

If we hamstring Wemby after being gifted him by the lottery gods, everyone's going to go back to saying Kawhi was right, even after history has shown the Spurs were right. Juice just isn't worth the squeeze. No one would want to play for us. How difficult would the next rebuild be?

---

The thing is they have a track record of holding guys out longer than expected with any semblance of an injury. I know nobody would ever say it and certainly not make it obvious. But itd be silly to not notice the silver lining.

I really think they will change the rule if Wemby is denied because he plays 60 games one year.

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I think if a player plays fewer than 65 and still leads the league in a major stat category, they should still be up for awards. Joker may miss 65 by a couple games and still lead the league in rebounds and assists and not be able to get MVP votes. That's crazy. Just like Victor getting the blocks title even though they averaged in a 0 for a dozen a games.

Last two minute report worthless as always.

https://official.nba.com/l2m/L2MReport.html?gameId=0022500467

Said the only incorrect call was the 3pter foul on Barnes. Said it should not have been called.

Quote:

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McCullar Jr. (NYK) gets his hand firmly on the ball before stepping out of bounds and a held ball is whistled.

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So we are just going to ignore that he completely fouled Julian to get to the ball?

Quote:

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Fox (SAS) moves alongside of Brunson (NYK), who braces for contact as the two players come together, but does not extend his off-arm into Fox.

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Here is Brunson not extending his arm into Fox:

Quote:

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Bridges (NYK) maintains a legal guarding position during Barnes' (SAS) drive to the basket and shot attempt.

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Bridges uses both hands to hand check nearly the entire play. Automatic foul, even if his positioning was great.

Quote:

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Bridges (NYK) legally contests Champagnie's (SAS) jump shot attempt.

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NBA made the "high five" a foul and Bridges hits JC's hand so much that you can see his fingers change directions. Julian clearly reacts to the hit on his hand immediately, but not in a flopping manner.

The Efficiency Landscape. What jumps out? pic.twitter.com/CjqrYcmJL6

— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) January 2, 2026